Let’s look at a parallel evolution that occurred in the automobile industry from Manufactured, to Assembled, to Platform-based production.In the old ‘manufacturing’ days, each model of car was custom designed, and each had its own unique manufacturing process. Product differentiation was high, but so were design and manufacturing costs.Then the industry made a transition to a co-branded ‘Assembly’ mode, in which automakers branded essentially the same car under two different names. The automobiles were assembled from common parts, and targeted to similar buyers. Sharing parts and assembly processes resulted in significant cost reductions, but at the cost of product differentiation. So the transition to the modern day has brought a new, platform based production model, in which automakers can deliver very differentiated cars using a single, common platform. An automaker can produce a stable of very distinct cars that are targeted at very different buyer demographics. Yet through platform sharing, distinct cars are often built using the same platform and have approximately two-thirds of their parts in common. Using the platform approach, the automobiles are clearly differentiated on the outside with varying vehicle designs, and yet they are simplified on the inside by leveraging a standard development platform…

Let’s look at a parallel evolution that occurred in the automobile industry from Manufactured, to Assembled, to Platform-based production.In the old ‘manufacturing’ days, each model of car was custom designed, and each had its own unique manufacturing process. Product differentiation was high, but so were design and manufacturing costs.Then the industry made a transition to a co-branded ‘Assembly’ mode, in which automakers branded essentially the same car under two different names. The automobiles were assembled from common parts, and targeted to similar buyers. Sharing parts and assembly processes resulted in significant cost reductions, but at the cost of product differentiation. So the transition to the modern day has brought a new, platform based production model, in which automakers can deliver very differentiated cars using a single, common platform. An automaker can produce a stable of very distinct cars that are targeted at very different buyer demographics. Yet through platform sharing, distinct cars are often built using the same platform and have approximately two-thirds of their parts in common. Using the platform approach, the automobiles are clearly differentiated on the outside with varying vehicle designs, and yet they are simplified on the inside by leveraging a standard development platform…